Immigration bill envisions new farm worker program

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WASHINGTON — Sweeping immigration legislation taking shape in the Senate will aim to overhaul the nation’s agriculture worker program to create a steady supply of labor for farmers and growers, who rely more than any other industry on workers who have come to the country illegally.

Farm workers already here would get a speedier path to legal status than other immigrants in the country illegally, and a likely new visa program would make it easier for foreign workers to come to the U.S.

Policymakers aim to install such workers in place of the half or more of the nation’s farm labor workforce estimated to be in the country illegally.

Negotiators have been working to finalize an agreement in time for the measure to be included in bipartisan legislation expected to be released next week, but disagreements on wages and numbers of visas are proving tough to solve.

Labor groups are accusing growers of pushing to lower farmworkers’ wages, while growers dispute that and say they want to pay a fair wage.

Meanwhile, labor is resisting growers’ attempts to increase the potential numbers of new workers who would come in, as growers argue their industry’s viability depends on a strong new labor supply.

“It comes down to either we’re importing our labor or we’re importing our food, and if we don’t have access to a legal supply of labor we will start going offshore,” said Kristi Boswell, director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The issue has gotten little public attention in an immigration debate focused on securing the border, creating a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally, and designing a new visa program for low-skilled workers outside of agriculture.

But for states from California to Georgia to Florida with booming agriculture industries, it’s a critical part of the puzzle.

At least 50 percent and as much as 70 or 80 percent of the nation’s farm workers arrived illegally, according to labor and industry estimates.

Growers say they need a better way to hire labor legally, and advocates say workers can be exploited and need better protections and a way to earn permanent residence.